It Took Two Months

Why do I get the feeling that there’s an ulterior agenda afoot in Gateway Region’s decision to move the Downtown Y from 16th and Locust to 6th and Locust?

Oh yeah, my whitey sense is tingling. Though it may also be a WRPT, that it being at 16th and Locust makes it easier for Y patrons to become accidental beneficiaries of Ujamaa, while moving it ten blocks east will deprive them of that good fortune. Or there may be something at play here other than race.

What is making me think that there’s an ulterior agenda afoot is that the PR coming out of Gateway Region announcing this decision is suspiciously glitzy, yet the footprint of the relocated Downtown Y will be smaller, even though the PR is bragging about all the new amenities.

Responses showed people felt that safety and walkability were compromised by the Downtown Y’s proximity to the New Life Evangelistic Center, a shelter that serves the homeless.

And:

Despite concern from some critics that the transition is meant only to generate revenue and cater to young professionals, Helm said the facility’s motives hadn’t changed.

So it’s about getting away from Larry Rice’s vagabonds and getting closer to loft-dwellers.

As you can read in this article, a lot of people are now worried that the Y moving ten blocks east will somehow hurt diversity and be social injusticey, and be a blow to yoots. Whoever is handing that out is using it as a front for some self-centered motivation. If there was an endangered species of some sort on the building site on 6th and Locust, they’d be screaming about the environment.

Risque as it might be, I also think the brief mention that the new digs will have “private showers” can’t be overlooked. Remember, part of this is about catering to downtown loft-dwelling millennial professionals, and in that way, they’re reserved.